IF YOU GO
What: SuperKarts USA SuperNationals XIII
When: 7:30 a.m. today and 7 a.m. Sunday; opening ceremonies at 10 a.m. Sunday, SuperPro main event at 3:20 p.m. Sunday
Where: Rio parking lot
Tickets: $15; superkartsusa.com
SCHUMACHER
BY THE NUMBERS
3 — Formula One teams (Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari)
7 — Championships (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)
91 — Wins
250 — Races
1991 — First race, Belgian Grand
Prix, Spa
1992 — First win, Belgian Grand Prix
2006 — Last win, Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai
2006 — Last race, Brazilian Grand Prix, Sao Paulo
When I heard from an old racing pal that Michael Schumacher would be racing go-karts on the parking lot at the Rio this weekend, I told him I wasnÕt interested, because I was covering Tiger WoodsÕ putt-putt match against Phil Mickelson. Then it was over to the Laughing Jackalope where U2 was playing a benefit for a school chum who had lost it all by hitting a hard 16. And after that, Pele said heÕd give me a chance to get even on the foosball table.
This is how preposterous my old pal sounded.
But itÕs true. Michael Schumacher, the seven-time Formula One World Driving Champion, who holds Formula One records for most championships, most race victories, most fastest laps, most pole positions, most points scored, most races won in a single season and most times approached for his autograph on the French Riviera, is racing a go-kart — albeit a really souped-up go-kart — in the Rio parking lot this weekend.
ÒHeÕs working on his kart as we speak,Ó said Las Vegan Matt Jaskol, one of those racing go-karts against The Great Michael Schumacher in the Rio parking lot.
Maybe it wasnÕt exactly ÒDr. Watson, I presumeÓ on the list of things one thinks he will never hear. But it was in that ballpark.
For somebody in the business of driving very fast, this has to be one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that warrants numerous text messages to oneÕs friends and multiple pinches to oneÕs self.
ÒEven if you donÕt do what I do, even if youÕre just a fan (itÕs huge),Ó Jaskol said. ÒJust to set foot on the same track as him. But this isnÕt a charity race or some celebrity race. This is a real race, an all-out battle. WeÕll easily be doing 90 mph at the end of the straightaway. To be on the same track as him under those type of conditions is a real honor.Ó
Schumacher, 40, is said to be the sportÕs first billionaire. He was making in the neighborhood — Bill GatesÕ neighborhood — of $80 million annually, much of it in endorsements, when he retired from Formula One following the 2006 season. SundayÕs SuperPro race at the 13th SuperKarts USA SuperNationals pays $10,000 to the winner.
I donÕt think this is about the money.
It might be about regaining the keen hand-eye coordination required to drive a racing vehicle at high speeds in cramped confines, as there are rumors linking Schumacher to a Formula One comeback with a new team backed by Mercedes.
It might be about returning to oneÕs roots — Schumacher started racing go-karts at age 6 and won several European karting championships — although this might be the most extreme case of that since Alex Haley wrote about Kunta Kinte being kidnapped in Gambia during the 18th century.
It might be about renewing a friendship — Randy Kwasniewski, president and CEO of the Hard Rock Hotel, was spotted breaking bread with Schumacher on Wednesday night.
It also might be because driving go-karts between hay bales in a hotel parking lot is just a heck of a lot of fun. See if you can get away with that in Monaco.
Jaskol, 25 and looking to jump-start a pro racing career that has stalled for lack of sponsorship dollars during a soft economy, really doesnÕt care about the rhyme or reason that brought Schumacher to Las Vegas to pound asphalt. When a racing deity appears in your presence, you donÕt question it, you just go with it. And perhaps take him deep into the corner, if you can. Er, dare.
ÒI might give him a little nudge — just to say I did it,Ó Jaskol said when asked what he would do if he found his wheels side by side with SchumacherÕs on Sunday afternoon.
ÒBut hereÕs the thing — he probably wonÕt even be the guy to beat.Ó
If SchumacherÕs presence isnÕt enough to get your fireproof coveralls in a bunch, two current Formula One drivers, Sebastien Buemi of Switzerland and Nelson Piquet Jr., son of the former world champion Nelson Piquet of Brazil, also are entered. They probably wonÕt be the guys to beat either, Jaskol says.
The guy to beat is Jonathan Thonon of Belgium, who is seeking his third consecutive national championship in the featured SuperPro class. If you see this guy at Malibu Grand Prix and he offers to race you for $20, my advice would be to politely decline.
Still, Thonon could parallel park a Country Squire in a space where a Volkswagen wouldnÕt fit and heÕs still not going to impress those who came to see The Great Michael Schumacher drive around in circles.
Jaskol said when it was announced Schumacher might be coming, he uttered the one-word synonym for Ònonsense.Ó
ÒYeah, yeah, yeah,Ó he said, ÒMichael SchumacherÕs coming. IÕll believe it when I see it.Ó
Then he saw it. Michael Schumacher himself, working on Michael SchumacherÕs go-kart himself.
This could happen only in Las Vegas. Well, maybe it could have happened at Spa in Belgium or Monza in Italy or Silverstone in England, where they have these great racing circuits that have withstood the test of time and Nigel Mansell. But that it is happening here, in JaskolÕs hometown, in a parking lot of a casino, for the sake of Sterling Moss ...
Well, it was like Pat Sajak himself knocking on Ed GrimleyÕs door.
Matt Jaskol must feel like pulling his pants up real high and dancing around the paddock with a triangle.
Ron Kantowski can be reached at 259-4088 or at ron@lasvegassun.com. Read his blog, ÒNow and Then,Ó at lasvegassun.com/nowandthen.
Copyright 2009  Las Vegas Sun
